Kentucky Retirement Systems Lowers Stock Holdings in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its position in Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) by 6.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,566 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,559 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Moderna were worth $1,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRNA. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Moderna during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moderna in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Moderna during the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moderna during the second quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Moderna by 230.4% in the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 413 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. 75.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moderna Stock Performance

NASDAQ MRNA opened at $39.51 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 4.39 and a quick ratio of 4.20. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.68. The company has a market cap of $15.20 billion, a PE ratio of -6.79 and a beta of 1.69. Moderna, Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.80 and a 1-year high of $170.47.

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.89) by $1.92. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.25 billion. Moderna had a negative net margin of 43.77% and a negative return on equity of 17.68%. Moderna’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.39) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Moderna, Inc. will post -9.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Moderna in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Moderna from $125.00 to $111.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Moderna in a research report on Friday. They set an “underperform” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Moderna from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Moderna from $70.00 to $59.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moderna

In other Moderna news, CFO James M. Mock sold 1,321 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.39, for a total transaction of $104,874.19. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 8,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $682,754. This trade represents a 13.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 2,930 shares of company stock valued at $217,170 over the last quarter. 15.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Moderna Company Profile

Moderna, Inc, a biotechnology company, discovers, develops, and commercializes messenger RNA therapeutics and vaccines for the treatment of infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, autoimmune, and cardiovascular diseases in the United States, Europe, and internationally. Its respiratory vaccines include COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus, spikevax, and hMPV/PIV3 vaccines; latent vaccines comprise cytomegalovirus, epstein-barr virus, herpes simplex virus, varicella zoster virus, and human immunodeficiency virus vaccines; public health vaccines consists of Zika, Nipah, Mpox vaccines; and infectious diseases vaccines, such as lyme and norovirus vaccines.